Fear

"Thoughts turn into fear the more they are thought upon."

~

Early mornings were always hectic for Pierce, since the age of 8, she had been making the breakfast for herself and also taking care of a few of the household chores. Her father had been amazed when he found out how much she did for herself and praised her for it, saying how mature and thoughtful it was, though he also felt ashamed of how much he lacked in the father department. Being the only parent he was always very cautious, yet it was very difficult for him to take care of his daughter due to various job ventures and seminars he did, so he always apologized and tried to hire nannies and maids for the tasks he was enable to do at home, it made him feel responsible.

But Pierce never faulted him in any way, she was very understanding despite her father's frequent mishaps, and since they had shortage of money, she asked him to stop hiring any kind of help. She had always wondered where the money he made went to but she refrained from asking him, so that was the time when she started taking care of herself with an independent spirit. 8 years of age is a young period of time in anyone's life, still... she managed it well.

"I know I am hopeless when it comes to taking your care as a parent, and I know I lag behind by many years worth of parenting, but please bear with me despite my faults."

It was something her father, Judith, once said when she was about to go to sleep, it was the day of her birthday and her father had chosen that day to disappear. So when she was about to doze off, her door had slowly creaked open and the light from the corridor had entered the room, showing a shadow of a silhouette greeting her wall. The shadow had grown taller as the presence had came inside silently, she had kept quiet to see what would happen. Wondering if it was a thief by any chance or a part of her nightmare but she could somehow tell it was her dad and not someone else. His presence was always calm and composed, never fluctuating in any way.

It wasn't a secret that he hid his rendezvous very well, telling her only what was safe to go with, very vague, but she never questioned him. Some might think she was too trusting or naive for not asking him of his decisions, but she wasn't one, she was just very patient.

The words spoken by him that night had been her ultimate gift, it made her smile even to this day. Whatever she had felt towards her dad earlier had been washed away with warmth when she had heard him. So despite his obnoxious ground rules and irate behavior, she still loved him for who he was. So she tried to stand by his side whenever possible, she wanted to one day be his support when he needed it and fight for him his battles.

Unlike many days, this was one of the days when she was running late, not for school but for the tour of which she was the guide. She had slept late at night as she had been busy with answering the guest's unique and simple questions, she learned that he was just as clueless as a 5 year old. He was mature to a certain degree but still knew very less about modern technology, it seemed he had lived a sheltered life most of the time.

He had asked about phones, computers, laptops, refrigerator, television, oven, etc. It seemed he was totally new to the world and knew nothing about it, he wasn't even ashamed or embarrassed to ask all the questions.

For Pierce it was a surprise that her father hadn't woken up with all the murmurs but that was to be expected, he had looked tired and since the guest wasn't able to speak, she was the only one making all the noises. One thing she had noticed was that Vladius wasn't like the rest of the people who worked chaotically, his movements and even the writing were to the point and graceful. His posture was straight and his face kind, it never even seemed like he couldn't speak, except for the wait she did when he was writing down on the notepad. Although she did see he hid his emotions well, didn't let from surface on his face, he only showed her what he wanted to, not letting even a simple slip in his eyes. Thanks to her vague ability with feeling emotions of the others, she was able to tell what he was feeling, and till now he was sincere.

The guy was a mystery, with nothing but curiosity in his eyes, they were black yet showed more emotions than the regular light colored irises she saw most of the time. She wanted to believe her eyes had played tricks on her so ended up keeping mum about the discovery.

She was waiting for the guest to come down so she could cross check with herself, whether the eyes were black or silver. At the present she was down in the kitchen fixing a cup of coffee for herself.

Picking up the fallen towel from the floor, she kept it on her desk and brushed back her long hair effortlessly. Time was less and having long hair was bothersome, but hers miraculously never tangled and she was thankful for that. Maybe it was due to her father's genes, his hair was curlier and reached till below his shoulder, he kept it tied up mostly but still, it rarely tangled.

"Should I add two sugar cubes or one... Gracia says too much sweetness will be harmful for my health. Well, let's just go with one then... hope it doesn't gets too sweet," she often mused to herself, it was an embarrassing habit she had. Her father always reminded her she was just like her mother in terms of talking to oneself, so she felt a little better about it, almost to a point where she felt an attachment to it.

She waited for the milk to boil, with the coffee and sugar already put into the cup, it would soon be time to add the milk, it was how she prepared it daily.

Wide grey eyes stared back at her as she noted the reflective kitchen tile decorating the stove area, the image of her was in deep thought yet was smiling absently, she liked it, it proved her day had started good. She never understood why she was named Pierce, why not Pears or Pearce and it was never clarified.

Still having some time with her, she found a small clip from her jeans pocket, to tie her bangs back as she hated the hair when they fell on her face, it irritated her to no end. It was a habit she noticed was similar to her father, as he too felt it disturbing when the hair fell on his face, since his were more carefree curls.

"Wait, did I give him the milkshake...?" she remembered preparing it, but not serving it. 'How annoying. Guess I will have to go and see.'

Leaving the milk to boil unwatched was a risky thing to do so she decided she will wait for a while. When she turned around to see the time, she was given a small fright, it was a miracle she didn't scream. She wanted to know how he came down without making even the slightest of creek, it was next to impossible with such old steps.

In front of her stood Vladius wearing a simple black tee and grey ripped jeans. His hair was short as always - reaching till the nape of his neck - while combed back messily as if no effort was put into it, but coincidentally it looked better that way. Regardless of minimal efforts, he looked more handsome than the school jocks the female population swooned at.

"Y-You look good today."

'What the hell am I saying!?' she screamed in her head but was a blushing mess in reality. She saw him looking surprised for a second but it soon turned into a mischievous grin when he finally registered it was flattery. He remained silent but his eyes and smile spoke for him.

"Y-You look ready." She didn't know from where she learned the stuttering or why her brain supplied with such unimaginative sentences. "Though I am not." she pointed at her cup and from the corner of the eyes noticed a white foamy layer boiling on brim of the kettle, the same container she had put on the stove at high flame.

With a quick reflex she turned off the burner, putting on the oven gloves she closed off the lid of the kettle and brought it down on the table top. 'Thank God I looked back in time or the milk would have spilled.'

"Did you have anything for breakfast?" She still asked despite knowing her father must have given him something to eat.

He shook his head negatively which she hadn't expected. "He didn't." Her bewilderment was apparent on her face and tone.

"Who didn't?" asked a voice coming down from the stairs, she peaked to see it was her father.

"You didn't prepare him any breakfast dad?"

He shook his head with no shame, he was very carefree. "I forgot."

When she moved to look back at the guest, she noted the slight frown which he hid instantly, otherwise there was no outward reaction. Suddenly very embarrassed and annoyed with her father's lack of manners her voice rose an octave, "That was not nice of you dad."

The house fell into silence at her reprimand which she had never done before, one would have thought her pause was due to the realization of her mistake but no, it was for her to take a deep breath. "He is our guest dad please be more attentive. And you should have asked me to manage his breakfast, that was very irresponsible of you." She wasn't loud, she just chided him, though his eyes told her he found it shocking, as if she had yelled at him.

Vladius was silent as always but his face expressed his surprise and her father remained on the stairs with wide eyes. Pierce hadn't wanted to make a scene in front of a guest, it was embarrassing, yet she had to say something, her father was being too inattentive. A guest was a guest and should be treated with more generosity. The guest should always feel welcomed and since he was their first guest, their duty was set for them.

'Dad has always been one to uphold his etiquette and manners on a high pedestal, this doesn't make sense.'

The moment of silence passed as a car sped by, the father resumed his steps and Vladius took a seat. Pierce turned back to make her coffee, her mind calming down at a rapid pace, she was starting to see that her father was just not good with guests.

"I am sorry, I was tired and forgot about the new arrival. We seldom have guests." The soft spoken words were directed at the residents from Judith, it also put forth a tired monotone which she didn't miss.

"You look tired." She hadn't expected him to apologize to her because she wasn't really angry with him, but yet he did.

Judith took a seat next to the guest to whom Pierce had given her coffee to and some left off porridge, she was now fixing up the ingredients of a filling to make sandwiches.

"I have been working on a special project, it has been keeping me up at night."

"Oh, so were you awake last night?"

"Yes."

Pierce turned back to stir some coffee for herself, she didn't want to know if he saw the two chatting last night or not, it would be too bothersome to know. "You want some sandwiches?"

"No." She remembered he didn't like bread, he was a more beverage and fruits person.